Life Was Perfect
by Avada Cruimperio
Summary: Sequel to The Difference. Life was perfect, for the Atwoods, had been for seven years now. That's a long time to go without a problem... are things too good to be true? It would seem they are...
1. Life Was Perfect

**A/N: I'm baaaack! Yay! After a few weeks, I bring you the (hopefully) much-anticipated sequel to _The Difference_. I am telling you right now, this story is full of angst. I must say that I thought I didn't _not_ do a good job on TD at all, I just reread it (and cringed every thirty seconds at the horrible writing), I mean, it barely even had a plot! This story will be sooooooooo much better; it's not plotless, although some of you are going to _hate_ me at the end of this chapter. So, without further ado, I present to you Chapter One of _Life Was Perfect_.**

Life was perfect.

Life had been perfect for almost seven years, now, ever since the birth of Madison Olivia Atwood, her daughter. Life had gotten, if possible, even more perfect about a year after that, when Marissa had married Ryan, the love of her life. Marissa was no longer a Cooper, and truthfully, she was thankful. Her mother was not on top of her favorite people list, although her father almost redeemed the Cooper name. It was just so much… better, being Marissa Atwood, although Summer had deemed any possible nickname from it (mainly "At" and "Wood") stupid, and had continued to call her Coop for the last six years.

Speaking of Summer, Marissa realized that she needed to go see her, now. Madison had been over at the Cohen's for a play-date with six-year-old Katie, her best friend. Marissa wondered what her daughter was doing now, and realized, without even having to thing, that the most likely answer was chasing Katie's three-year-old brother, Evan, with Summer's cosmetics. Every time Maddy went over there (which was quite often), Marissa offered to stay and help get the lipstick out of her nephew's face, and was usually taken up on the offer. Last time she had checked, there were now six empty make-up remover bottles in their rarely used recycling bin.

Marissa grabbed her keys, and headed out the door, blowing a kiss to the framed picture of Ryan on their wall.

She stepped outside, locking the door, and jogged next-door, to the (second) Cohen mansion. Marissa had to smile every time she looked at her or Seth's house. The day Seth had turned twenty-one, he had been informed that when his grandfather died, he had _not_ left all his money to Julie Cooper-Nichol, but had left his millions and millions of dollars to one Seth Cohen of Newport Beach.

Needless to say, Seth now had a restraining order against Marissa's mother. Not that anyone cared, mind you. Julie was finally out of their hair, and Maddy wasn't too upset that she never knew her maternal grandmother. She had three other grandparents that loved her: Jimmy, Sandy, and Kirsten, naturally.

Anyways, Seth had immediately taken the fortune and bought large mansions, across the street from his parent's house, for his family and the Atwoods. He never really got why his grandfather left _him_ the fortune, but Marissa supposed that Caleb thought that Kirsten and Sandy had enough money as it was. And now, so did Seth. He would never need to set foot in an office again, but he had decided that he wanted to work. Summer wasn't exactly thrilled when shelearned that her husband was writing _another_ graphic novel, but he promised her this time he would never hire any employeesnamed Zach. Seth worked at home, though. Speaking of the Cohen residence...

The thing was, Marissa thought, as she rang the Cohen's doorbell, that maybe… maybe it was just _too_ perfect. Life had been absolutely wonderful for the last seven years: would it last much longer?

Marissa shook off that notion, she was just being paranoid. If anything, things would get better, not worse.

She was snapped out of her musings by the door opening. Summer ushered her inside.

"The usual?" Marissa asked.

"Surprisingly, no. Last night, Seth had a looooooong talk with Evan, explaining _why_ make-up was a bad thing and pointing out good places to hide if the girls approached him with my lipstick again."

"So what'd they do?"

Summer led her into the family room, where about sixty blonde dolls lay, in extremely mismatched clothes.

"Barbies?"

"Yup."

Marissa felt a tug at her shirt, and looked down at a small blonde girl, looking anxiously up at her.

"Hi, Mommy! Guess what? Today, I played Barbies with Katie and it was soooo much fun and we had one be you an one be Auntie Summer and one be me and one be Katie and then we had the blonde Ken be Daddy and the brown one be Uncle Seth and the little one be Evan and they were all a family and I had lots and lots and lots of fun!" Madison pointed out which doll was which person as she chattered.

"That's great!" Marissa noticed that the doll that was supposed to be her was wearing a bright orange top and dark khaki-pants. Yikes.

A small dark-haired girl, who looked to be about five but was really six, approached them.

"Hey, Katie," Marissa said, bending down and giving her niece a hug.

"Hey, Aunt Rissy? We were wondering…" Katie said, taking her thumb out of her mouth.

"Can we have a sleepover? Please?" the girls said together.

Summer looked warily over at her best friend. "Not tonight, girls," she said.

Marissa agreed. "You have school tomorrow."

"You guys are no fun," Madison pouted.

"I know," Summer said. "Come on, Katie, it's almost six. Let's go make dinner."

Katie defiantly stuck her thumb back in her mouth.

Marissa picked up her daughter. "Let's go, Maddy."

Madison pouted, but allowed herself to be carried away by her mother. "Bye!" she yelled over her mom's shoulder.

"Bye!" Katie yelled back.

Marissa put Madison down as soon as they stepped inside. Looking at her watch, she realized Ryan was probably home, and judging by his car in the driveway, he was.

She went upstairs looking for her husband.

"Ryan?" she asked, knocking on their bedroom door. No one answered. She pushed it open, and her eyes widened in shock.

Ryan was lying on their bed, shirtless, his chin _covered_ in lipstick stains. And he wasn't alone. His secretary was on the bed next to him. Marissa vaguely noticed that the collar of his shirt, which was lying on the floor near the hamper, had red all over it too.

"Oh, my God," she said softly, and Ryan looked up.

"Damn," he muttered.

Life was perfect- up until now.

A/N: So? What'd ya think? I probably will not be posting any more chapters for a week, as I am banned from the computer til next Wednesday. Review!


	2. I Don't Like It When You Fight

**A/N: Wow, 9 reviews for my first chapter! You guys rock! Keep it up! hands you all "Coolest People In The World medals.**

Ryan was lying on their bed, shirtless, his chin _covered_ in lipstick stains. And he wasn't alone. His secretary was on the bed next to him. Marissa vaguely noticed that the collar of his shirt, which was lying on the floor near the hamper, had red all over it too.

"Oh, my God," she said softly, and Ryan looked up.

"Damn," he muttered.

Marissa fled down the stairs, taking them two at a time. She didn't know what she was doing, where she was going- all she knew is she had to get away.

She stopped in the kitchen, searching for the car keys.

"Marissa!"

She didn't turn around.

"Marissa, listen, please, let me explain.

She faced him.

"Ryan, I think I'm smart enough to figure it out on my own!"

"Marissa, it's not what it looked like-"

"Really? I'd really like to hear your stupid excuse this time, Ryan! There's nothing you can do to cover it up now, is there?"

"Marissa, listen!" He put a hand on her shoulder.

She pulled away. "Don't touch me!"

Ryan shoved his hands in his pocket. "Marissa, give me two minutes. Let me explain!"

She let out a hollow laugh. "I don't need to hear it."

Ryan punched the counter in frustration. "Damn it, Marissa, hear me out!"

"For what? I know what I saw Ryan! Didn't I mean anything to you? Didn't this-" she pulled off her wedding ring and threw it at him "- mean anything to you? Didn't _we_ mean anything to you?"

"Marissa, shut up and listen to me! I am trying to tell you-"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"Marissa-"

She shoved her fingers in her ears. "LA LA LA! I CAN'T HEAR ANY MORE OF YOU GODDAMN LIES, RYAN!"

"Stop acting like you're two, Marissa! You are twenty-four years old!"

"I know perfectly my age perfectly well Ryan! Don't make me feel stupider than I already do!"

"What are you talking about?"

She snorted. "First, you try to sneak around my behind my back, figuring I wouldn't notice! Well, I did!"

He threw up his hands. "I didn't sneak around behind your back!"

But she had shoved her fingers in her ears again. "LA DEE DA, I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOU AND YOUR STUPID LIES!"

"You know, you've got a real age problem! Acting like a kid when you're in your twenty, and then the opposite: being alcoholic like a drunk, homeless idiot at fifteen!"

Marissa's eyes widened, then turned cold. He had gone too far. "Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of this house right now."

"Marissa, I-"

"GET OUT!"

He grabbed his keys. "Fine! I'll go! And I'm not coming back!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

He slammed the door behind him.

Five minutes later, as Marissa sat, huddled up on the couch in a plaid fleece blanket, the reality of it all sunk it. He cheated on her. And he was gone. Forever.

_Good!_ she thought.

_Good? Are you kidding me? Your husband just left you! _a nagging little voice in the back of her mind said.

_Some husband. He cheated on me!_

_Maybe he didn't. He kept saying that he didn't cheat, it was a misunderstanding…_

_So you're trying to insult my intelligence, too? Make me think that there's even a chance he was being honest?_

_You've known him for almost ten years now. He sounded sincere, you could tell-_

_Shut up! Shut the hell up! You're wrong!_

She heard tiny footsteps coming down the stairs. She had forgotten about her daughter. When had she crept upstairs?

"Mommy?" Madison said, sitting next to her mother on the couch. "Why are you crying?"

She hadn't realized that she was.

"Daddy and I just had a little fight, honey." Marissa brushed away her tears.

"I heard you yelling." Madison hugged her. "Where'd Daddy go?"

"He just left for a little bit."

"Is he coming back?" Madison looked like she was about to cry.

_I don't know_. "Of course."

"What were you fighting about?"

Marissa didn't respond.

"I don't like it when you fight," Madison whispered.

Marissa felt horrible. "I'm sorry," she said, pulling her into a hug.

"That's okay, Mommy," Madison's muffled voice said. "It'll be okay in the morning, right?" Her big blue eyes looked up at her mother expectantly.

"I'm going to call Aunt Summer and see if you can have dinner there." Marissa got up, leaving behind a confused Maddy.

She dialed the Cohen's.

Seth answered. "Hello?"

Marissa worked to keep the ob out of her voice. "Seth, I need to talk to Summer."

"Hang on. Summer! It's Marissa!" He paused. "She'll be there in a min- Katie, get off of your brother!"

_Click_. Summer picked up. "I got it, Seth! Hey, Coop, what's up?"

Marissa choked back a sob. "Can you guys take Madison for dinner?"

"Um, sure. Why?"

"I'm not up to cooking tonight." That certainly was true.

"So have Ryan do it."

Silent tears fell down her face. "He can't."

"Why not?"

"He's not here."

"Do you know why?"

Marissa was unable to keep quiet any longer. Sobs wracked her body, tears fell quickly and rapidly down her face.

"Coop? Coop, are you okay?"

"No," she choked out.

"I'm coming over."

"Okay," she managed to get out.

Five minutes later, Maddy was on her way to the Cohen's, and Summer sat next to Marissa at the kitchen table, patting her back.

"Coop, you have to tell me what's wrong," Summer urged.

She stifled back more tears. "W-when I got home, I went upstairs, and R-ryan was up there, with his secretary."

"So?"

"I mean _with_ his secretary."

"Wha- ohhhhhh. Oh, my God! Were they…" Summer raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"So they were kissing?"

"Well, not exactly. They w-were on _our_ bed, and he had lipstick all over his chin, a-and his shirt was on the ground, but it had it t-too."

"Oh, Coop," Summer hugged her. "I thought you said he left?"

Marissa chokingly explained their fight.

"A-and now he's gone and I'm never gonna see him again!" she finished, wailing.

"Coop. Listen to me. Ryan is a dirty, cheating, lying asshole. You are _lucky_ to be rid of him, not sad. Got it?"

Marissa appreciated the effort, but she knew if Seth was the one who had cheated, Summer would not believe one word of that. She gave her a small smile, though. "I guess."

"Do you want to come over for dinner?"

Marissa hiccupped slightly. "No thanks."

Summer understood. "All right. I'm gonna go back now. I'll see you later, alright? Call me tonight."

Summer hurried home, her eyes blazing with fury. How _dare_ Ryan do this to her?

She stepped inside, and locked the door. Seth noticed at once the look on her face. "Whoa, Summer, what's wrong?"

"That bastard!" she yelled.

Seth sighed. "You are very lucky that the kids are in the soundproof basement. Again: What's wrong?"

"Ryan cheated on Marissa!"

"What?"

Summer told him everything.

"You've got to be kidding me." Seth said.

"Why would I make that up?"

"That just doesn't seem like something Ryan would do." Seth said slowly.

"Well, he did. Why didn't you see that coming? He's your best friend! You should have known!"

Seth shied away from the subject. "How's Marissa taking it?"

"At this rate, next time we go in her house, everything glass will have been hurled at a wall, the furniture will all have tearstains, and she'll be hiding under the covers."

"Pretty bad, then?"

"That's one way to describe for it."

At that moment, Summer felt a tug on her shirt. She looked down to see Madison holding a picture. "Aunty Summer, guess what? I made a picture!"

"That's great," Summer said listlessly.

"See? That's my house! And that's me, and Mommy, and Daddy!" She pointed to the figures holding hands in front of a humongous square.

"Mommy seemed sad, so I drew it for her. Do you think she'll like it?"

Summer spoke quietly to the little girl. "Honey, now's not the best time to give that to her."

"Why not?"

Summer couldn't answer.


	3. Evil, Cheating, Dumbass Loser

**A/N: Hey! Sorry it took me so long to update, I had/have writers black. Um, anyways, guess what?**

**Today is my birthday! Yay! And, seriously, the best present in the world that I could get is if everyone who reads this chapter reviews it. I know it's asking a lot, but all you have to do is click the little "submit review" box, and type in "good" or "bad". That's all I ask:-D You guys rock. **

**Disclaimer: Does it look like I own the OC? Didn't think so. But guess what? I own Madison Atwood. And Katie and Evan Cohen. And the plot. Wow, so much.**

Ryan Atwood was not having a good day.

He sat on a bed; at some motel that h couldn't even remember the name of, antagonizing over that fact that… well, he didn't really want to talk about it. Or think about it.

But how could he not? How could she have done that to him? Marissa was always so hotheaded. If she had just given him a chance to explain…

He was snapped out of his thoughts by his cell phone ringing.

"Marissa?" he asked hopefully.

"Is that how you answer the phone these days? Guilty conscience, is it?" Seth asked coldly.

Ryan struggled not to throw his cell out the window. "Listen, Seth, I know what I seemed like-"

"What it _seemed_ like? You mean what it was. How _could_ you, man?" Seth sounded… disappointed?

"I _didn't_!" Ryan raised his voice. "Everyone thinks I'm some dirty liar who cheats on my wife!"

"Because you _are_."

"I'm not! Seth, listen to me, please hear me out. I'm going to go insane if I'm the only one who knows the truth!"

"Fine. Let's see what far-fetched tale you come up with this time."

"I had a bunch of paperwork at the house, and I had to give it to the secretary. So I went upstairs to get it, and she followed me up. I was reaching across the bed to get it, and she tripped on something and fell on me, getting her lipstick all over my face and shirt. So I took off the shirt to get a clean on, and then Marissa walked in!"

"I don't know, man… That's just a little too convenient. Dude, I just never thought you'd cheat on Marissa…"

"Exactly! I wouldn't! I didn't! Think about it. Which makes more sense: My klutzy secretary tripping, or me cheating on Marissa!"

"When you put it like that…"

"Please, Seth. You've got to believe me."

Seth let out a slow breath. "I do."

"You've got to- wait. What?"

"I believe you."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Meanwhile, back at the Atwood house, Marissa was once again sobbing her eyes out, as Summer patted her back and handed her Kleenex.

"Let it all out, Marissa," she said sympathetically.

"I just-" she blew her nose "don't understand why he would do it."

"Because he's an, evil, cheating, lying, stupid, dumb ass loser." Summer explained.

"We were so happy."

"Yeah, well, you'll be a lot happier as soon as you get rid of Chino, The Amazing One Man Cheater for good."

At that precise moment, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Summer got up.

She swung open the front door.

"Hi, could you come back later-" she stopped, and realized that she was talking to Ryan.

"Much later." she finished. "As in, never."

"I have to talk to Marissa."

"Yeah, right."

Marissa appeared at Summer's side. "What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I have to talk to you," he repeated.

"Yeah, well, maybe you should have tried that _before_ you threw your marriage down the drain." Summer eyed him nastily.  
"Please. Marissa, you've got to hear me out."

"Why would you want to talk to a drunk, homeless idiot like me?" she asked, glaring at him.

"I know I said some things I shouldn't have. But I didn't cheat on you!"

"Oh, and I just imagined you with that secretary, I suppose. Now I'm having hallucinations, right?"

"Marissa, listen-"

"Get out. Go away. I never want to see you again!"

"But-"

"Go."

Ryan left.

Summer glared at his retreating form. "We've got to do something about him. I don't want him talking to you any more."

"What can we do about it?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"You _what_?" Seth screeched the next morning.

"Shut up, you'll wake the kids!" Summer looked agitated.

"Marissa got a _restraining order_ against him?" Seth asked incredulously.

"He went over to her house-"

"_Their_ house-"

"and bother her again!"

"You idiot! _I_ sent him there!"

Now it was Summer's turn to be shocked. "You _what_?"

"He didn't cheat on her!"

"And we got Katie an elephant for her birthday!"

"I'm serious! It wasn't what it looked like! I talked to him!"

"You're in _contact_ with that excuse for a human being?"

"Yes! I am! He just _happens_ to be my best friend, you know! You've got to hear his side of the story!"

"I don't want to hear his bullshit, Marissa doesn't want to hear his bullshit-"

"It's not bullshit!"

"Mommy?" Katie poked her head in through the door.

"_What_?" Seth and Summer snapped together.

"Um… never mind."

Summer regained composition first. "I'm sorry, honey. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to let you know that Evan heard you guys yelling and started crying."

Summer sighed. "I'll be there in a minute, sweetie."

"'Kay."

"This discussion is _not_ over," Summer informed Seth as she left the room.

Seth threw up his hands. "You call this a _discussion_?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Seth could hear Ryan's shock over the phone. "You've _got _to be kidding me."

"I wish I was."

"She got a restraining order in one night? How is that even possible? Don't you have to like, beat up your wife and stuff for someone to do that?"

"She's got connections. Or rather, Summer's got connections. Which are really _my _connections! That's not fair!"

"I don't believe this. How am I going to see Maddy?"

"That's like the least of your problems right now."

"Huh?"

"I heard Summer talking to her just now, and she was like "You should divorce him, Marissa!""

Ryan's jaw dropped. "Shit."

"Yeah."

"You think Summer'll convince her?"

"I hope not."

"But what do you _think_?"

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

Seth sighed. "Things aren't looking good."

**Today is my birthday. Review!**


	4. I'm Going To Throw You In The Zebra Cage

**A/N: So, I decided that, for many reasons, it would be in everyone's best interest for me to get a website for my stories. I now have a LiveJournal that you all can go to to check out what's happing in the writing world of Avada Cruimperio. NOTE: Since has banned reviewer responses, I'm going to put them up on the LiveJournal (you can find the link on my profile, under homepage) It'll also have when I'm planning on updating, if I have writers block, polls, and the like. Check it out, bookmark it, make a song of devotion to it- I don't care. But please look at it!**

** A/N: I'm sorry for the inconsistency of my updating, but if you knew where this story was going, it would take you a while to write a chapter, too. There's also the fact that with my drama-filled life, writing a comedy like Making Friendship Bracelets For The Death Eaters is a lot easier to do, also partially because there's no plot. But I will not ever update 2 chapters in a row of MFBFTDE without updating LWP. ALSO: For those of you who are worried, this story DOES have a happy ending. I promise. **

** _IMPORTANT! IMPORTANT! MAJORLY IMPORTANT! _**

** I am changing my penname. I have come to realize that dramaqueen825 is such a boring and bland name, SO within the next few days it will change to Avada Cruimperio. For all of you who are not the unique-and-slighly-mentally-dearranged combination of OC-Watcher and Harry Potter-Reader, you will have no idea what it means. That's okay. You don't need to. But you do need to know that after this week, dramaqueen825 not be my name. Avada Cruimperio. Not dramaqueen825. Avada Cruimperio. Dramaqueen825. Got it? IF YOU ARE REVIEWING, NOTE IN YOUR REVIEW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I AM CHANGING MY NAME. It's very important to me that all you get it. **

** Disclaimer: Man, I wished I owned the OC. THIRD SEASON THIS WEEK! SEPTEMBER EIGHTH! YOU ALL BETTER BE IN FRONT OF YOUR TV AT 8 O'CLOCK/7 CENTRAL ON THURSDAY! **

Life for Ryan Atwood was not perfect.

For one thing, his wife had kicked him out of the house.

When he came back to explain things to her, she kicked him out again and got a restraining order against him, using his best friends connections.

He hadn't seen his daughter in over two weeks.

And things were not looking to get any better in the near future.

Or the far future for that matter.

"I'm really sorry to keep doing this, man," Seth told him over the phone.

"Do what?"

"Calling you with bad news."

"What could be worse then getting kicked out of my own home and not being allowed to go back?"

"Um, having your wife file for divorce?"

"Okay, that would be worse."

"Not would be. Is."

Silence.

"Ryan? Are you there?"

"You can't be serious."

"I'm really sorry."

"But didn't you try to tell Summer the truth? I thought that- I mean-"

"I tried. I've been trying for the last five days. And every time I bring the subject up, she threatens to send me packing to go live over at the Newport Motel with you."

"I'm sorry."

"Dude, that is not what you're supposed to be saying right now. Marissa threw you out, you can't visit your kid, and may never see the two of them again, and you're apologizing to me? That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Hang on. That's my other line."

Seth waited, drumming his fingers on the kitchen countertop.

Five minutes later, Ryan was back.

"Seth?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"That was Marissa's lawyer, telling about… you know."

"Yeah. Wait. Who's her lawyer?" Seth prayed that it wasn't his father.

"It's not Sandy, if that's what you're thinking. Some guy- Harry? Hattison? No, Harrison. That's it. And so I told him that I didn't want a divorce and that I had to talk to Marissa."

"And he said…"

"That the restraining order was there for a reason. Apparently I'm dangerous to my family."

"So… what are you gonna do?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you write her a letter?"

"A letter?"

"Yeah, and tell her what really happened and stuff. I could give it to her for you."

"She'd rip it up and flush it down the toilet."

"Maybe. But maybe not. It's worth a try."

"If you say so."

Ryan winced as he heard a loud crash on Seth's end of the phone.

"Crap. Katie just knocked over a glass swan. I gotta go."

"Bye."

_Click_

Ryan sighed, and buried his head in his hands. Why had things gone so wrong?

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Marissa sat on the couch. Summer had said that Seth was in touch with Ryan, who had convinced him that Ryan hadn't cheated. Maybe… maybe Ryan wasn't lying. Could it be?

She didn't notice that her daughter had sat down next to her until she felt a small hand tugging at her sleeve. She looked over to see Madison holding a piece of paper.

"I made this today." Maddy pointed to her drawing. "This is our house, and this is me and you and Daddy."

Marissa could feel her eyes begin to water.

"When's Daddy coming home?" Madison whispered.

Marissa just hugged her daughter.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Summer slammed a pot down on the stove.

"Summer, come on, stop it. You've been ignoring me for the last three days." Seth pleaded, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Summer glared at him as she yanked open the pantry and pulled out a box of spaghetti.

"Okay, I know that you're mad at me-"

"You're so smart, Cohen-"

"But you don't have to get worked all up about it! Come on let's just drop the subject-"

"Drop the subject? Drop the subject? Cohen, Marissa's while _life_ has been ruined by _your_ best friend, who you are remaining loyal to, and all you can say is drop the subject?"

"See, Summer, that's the thing, remember that's _not_ all I had to say on it-"

"Oh, trust me. I remember." She threw the lid down on the pasta pot.

"Come on, let's not get our marriage ruined by this, too-"

"If this is what you're going to be like for the rest of your life-"

"You've known me long enough to know-"

"Yeah, well-"

"You can't-"

"Mom! Dad!"

"_What_?" They turned around and glared at their daughter in unison.

"Can you like, _please,_ tune it down a bit! I am _try_ing to watch TV here!" Katie stamped her foot.

"Go to bed," Summer ordered.

"It's six o'clock."

"Go."

"I haven't had dinner yet."

"Now."

"Say please."

"Katherine Vanessa Cohen, if you do not get up those stairs in fifteen seconds, I will-"

"Good night!" Katie scampered upstairs.

"You should have let her have dinner." Seth remarked.

"If you had any brains, Cohen, you would have noticed that it's not ready yet."

"I know."

The phone rang.

Summer picked up. "Hello?"

She sent the telephone a death glare.

"Who is it?" Seth asked.

"_Him._"

"Ryan! Hang up! She'll kill you!"

"If you ever call my house again, I swear that I will hunt you down and throw you inside the zebra cage in the zoo where they'll eat you alive."

Seth was very frightened of his wife- though because of her threats or her possible insanity, he couldn't say.

**A/N: Review! Check out my LiveJournal!**


	5. Dear Marissa

A/N: SEASON THREE SPOILERS 

**OH! Who so totally called it? Did you guys see how next episode Ryan has sex with Marissa? I said it would happen! Chapter one of The Difference! If Marissa gets pregnant, that is it, I'm psychic. I saw the preview for next week and Ryan was like "Are you sure you want to do this?" and I was, Is this what I think it is? and then it was like "the moment you've been waiting for for three years" and I saw the clip and I went "OH WHO SO TOTALLY CALLED IT?" **

**Anyways, yeah. Sorry for the lack of updates on this story.**

**Disclaimer: I may as well own The O.C., since I called what was going to happen about three months ago, but I don't.**

** UN-SEASON THREE SPOILERS**

Ryan sucked in a deep breath. What he was about to do was not going to be easy. It required courage, willpower, and good English skills.

Two out of three wasn't bad.

He sat down and began to write.

_Dear Marissa,_

I'm begging you to please, please not rip up this letter as soon as you see who it's from…

Marissa grabbed the mail. She sifted through it: junk, catalogue, bill, junk, junk, magazine, bill, letter. Letter?

She ripped it open and began to read.

…as soon as you see who it's from. It's Ryan. If you haven't flushed this down the toilet by now, please don't. I wanted to tell you all this in person, but I'd like to avoid being arrested for violating the restraining order. So here goes.

Marissa, I never, ever, ever, ever cheated on you. And I never will. It does, however, seem weird that you didn't even let your husband of seven years explain something that could have been (actually, was) misinterpreted. You know my secretary, Lauren. How many times has she called the house and dropped the phone, or tripped over the cord? You know she's a klutz. I had brought her home to get a file that she had to type up, when she tripped over a stack of clothes, and accidentally landed on me, smearing lipstick all over my front. I had taken off my shirt to change out of the dirty one, when you walked in. I know that you're thinking that that's way too convenient of an excuse. It's weird I know, **but it's true. **Marissa, I love you so much. I would never cheat on you…

"Please, please let me come home. I love you. Ryan," Marissa finished aloud over the phone, half-sobbing.

Silence.

"Summer? Are you there?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think?"

"I think you should believe him."

"Sum, I know it doesn't soun- What?"

"I said, I think you should believe him."

"But… you said…" Marissa faltered.

"He's telling the truth, Coop. And you know it."

Marissa sighed. "I know."

"And you feel like crap because you didn't listen to him and he was right all along and you made him suffer. What you're feeling is perfectly normal. You'll want to apologize to him and he'll tell you to forget about it."

"Thanks, Dr. Phil."

"No problem."

Marissa heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" she called.

"Um… hi."

She knew that voice.

Ryan.

She stood up. "I… got your letter."

"And…"

She moved closer to him. "I believe you."

He rested his forehead against hers. "Good."

Madison walked in. "Ewww! Mommy and Daddy are kissing!"


	6. Creepy Kid's Crap

**A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been so busy… but I must confess, I wasn't that inclined to write this chapter. I love it when you review, and when I don't get that many, I get to thinking that no one likes the sotry. I was really tempted to end the story last chapter, in fact I originally had an authors note at the beginning saying that it was the last chapter, but I took it off. So here I am, writing more. And, once again, I must congratulate myself of my mad skills at predicting Third Season stuff.**

**SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE THE THIRD AND FOURTH EPISODES OF SEASON THREE HAVE BEEN BRAODCASTED, DON'T READ BELOW! THIS MEANS YOU, CIARAROCKS!**

**Well! I'm very proud of myself, indeed. I totally called, like, so much of this. Who said Ryan and Marissa would do it? I did. Who said Jimmy would leave Julie? I did. Who said they would have a bitchy teacher who hated Marissa? I did. I'm feeling _very_ pleased with myself right now.**

**END OF SPOILER ALERT.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the OC. If I did, there would be a lot more flying elephants in it.**

**…Just kidding.**

Marissa assumed that after the Not-Really-Cheating incident with Ryan, the Atwood's would get back to normal. Madison assumed that an elephant was going to show up on her doorstep and do the Macarena for her birthday that year. Both mother and daughter were wrong. Very, very wrong.

Marissa hung up the phone one day, an annoyed look on her face.

"What is it now?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing much… Madison's day care is closing down. Apparently, one of the owners had been taking money from them to buy cars and go on expensive vacations. So they're out of money, and now Madison has nowhere to go after school. They recommended this place-" Marissa glanced down at the sheet of paper she had been writing in. "-called Cool Kid's Care, or something stupid like that. They kept badgering me to write down the name and number, so there it is."

"Are you going to call it?"

"I guess. It can't hurt."

Ten minutes later, Marissa was off the phone again and frowning slightly. "That's odd."

"What is?"

"I talked to the manager of Cool Kid's whatever, and they sounded okay, just… kind of weird."

"Weird as in typical Newport weird or Julie Cooper weird?" Ryan asked, pulling open the pantry and grabbing some chips.

"I guess Newport weird…. He just sounded really distracted-"

"Probably cause he has all these parents calling in, asking about them-"

"-and he kept going "Hold on," and yelling in Russian or something to someone."

"They don't have to be from America to be good at watching kids."

"And when I asked if I could come in and check it out, he immediately said no way, that I never needed to go there, they'd send a bus to school for Maddy at three and drop her off here at five, so there was no point in me going there. And then, when I asked at least where the locations were, he shrugged me off again, saying that I didn't need to know, but it was "in the Newport area." There are a million places in the Newport area! He could have at least narrowed it down to a hundred!"

Ryan sighed. "Marissa, it's fine. I think someone at work sends his son there, and he says it's great. Let's just try it, alright?"

"Do we have to?" Marissa whined.

"Don't you want the best for our daughter?"

"Of course! Which is why I don't want to send her there! Something's not right about that place, Ryan, I'm telling you. If you call them and ask, you'll see how weird it is."

"Fine." Ryan picked up the phone and hit redial. "It's busy."

"See? See! They're probably calling Target, asking how much garbage bags cost and if they're big enough to fit the bodies of five-year-old's into!"

"Marissa, contrary to what you might think, not everyone in the world is a serial killer."

"You don't know that."

"Am I a serial killer?"

"You might be. Maybe, when you go to work, you're really out there in the Middle East with a bazooka!" Marissa pointed an accusing finger at her husband.

"It's really interesting that I have time to fly halfway across the world, murder hundreds of innocent citizens, fly back and still be home in time for dinner, isn't it?"

Marissa sighed. "Okay. I get your point. But I still think we really ought to check out some other places."

"I'll compromise with you. We'll send her there tomorrow, and if she doesn't like it, we'll take her out and find somewhere else for her to go, all right?"

"Fine," Marissa grumbled. "But if I hear _one_ negative word about Creepy Kid's Crap-"

"Cool Kid's Care-"

"-Then she's gone."

"Okay."

So off went Madison the next morning to her new daycare. Marissa anxiously awaited her arrival home, hoping Madison would tell her it stunk so they would have an excuse to find a better one. But her daughter arrived home all smiles, laughing and saying how much fun she had had.

Over the next few weeks, Marissa grudgingly accepted Maddy's happiness at Creepy Kid's Crap. But she talked to the manager, and insisted on picking her daughter up every day, claiming it was right by her office and she would have no trouble. Only when she threatened to pull Maddy out did he concede. But when Marissa arrived each day to pick her daughter up, things seemed… odd there. There were no crayons or markers for the kids to color with. There were only a few dolls or toy trucks, and other than that, Marissa couldn't imagine how they kept the kids entertained.

So she wasn't surprised when she got a call about it the next week. She was making a salad for herself when the phone rang. She grabbed it without even looking at the caller ID.

"Hello, Mrs. Atwood?" a male voice asked.

"Speaking."

"This is the Orange County Police Department."

Marissa rolled her eyes. For the last time, it was the next-door neighbors who egged the Murphy's across the street!

"We're calling about your daughter, Madison."

Marissa paled. What was wrong with Maddy? It was those damned day care people, she had sworn from the start that they were no good. She had told Ryan that they were not to be trusted, but no, just because "some idiot from work recommended it doesn't mean that it's good. He could be wrong!"

"Mrs. Atwood, please calm down."

Marissa swallowed nervously. She hadn't even realized she had been ranting out loud.

"I'm going to ask you to stay calm, please. You might want to sit down."

Legs shaking, Marissa slowly lowered herself down onto the couch. "Yes?"

"Mrs. Atwood, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, but your daughter has been kidnapped."

**A/N: Woot! Cliffy! MAJOR cliffy! Review! **


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